How to properly remove the adsorber

Is it worth to turn off the adsorber, pros and cons, possible consequences?

Before you turn off the adsorber in the car, it is important to understand how it will affect the operational qualities of the vehicle, including environmental, as well as the safety of driving.

This article discusses the purpose and principle of the adsorber, where it is installed, when to change and whether you can disable and drive without a device, how to correctly remove the device on VAZ 2110, 2112, 2114, Lada Priora, Granta, Largus, Gazelle, and whether to flash the ECU after disconnecting the device.

What is the correct name for the adsorber or the absorber?

In the world there are both concepts. But in spite of the fact that “sorbeo” and “absorbeo” are translated almost identically: adsorber (from Latin ad – on, at and sorbeo – to absorb) and absorber (from Latin absorbeo – to absorb), both words have different meaning.

1. In our case we are talking about an adsorber because it is a device which absorbs gaseous or soluble substances with its solid surface without undergoing chemical reactions. There are devices of periodic and continuous action.
2. And an absorber is a device which completely absorbs gases (vapors) inwards with the subsequent passage of a chemical reaction, as a result of which one of the substances is completely absorbed by a special liquid (absorber).

Therefore for our situation the first variant will be correct.

Purpose and principle of operation

Adsorber – is a container filled with activated carbon, which acts as a filtering element. This element is the main part of EVAP – Evaporative Emission Control (gasoline vapor recovery system).

The system has been integrated into the fuel system of cars with Euro-2 and above. That is, you will not see the adsorber on the VAZ classic and even model 2108, not to mention the Moskvich, Volga 3110, etc.

The purpose is to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere and eliminate the smell of gasoline in the cabin of the car.

But despite the simplicity of construction, in addition to the body and the filter element the adsorber consists of:

1. Pipes: air inlet, vacuum, gasoline vapor outlet.
2. Separator – here the vapors are condensed and discharged back into the tank.
3. Gravitational (emergency) valve – blocks the overflow of fuel when the machine is overturned.
4. Solenoid valve (or vacuum valve – for example, is on some models of Nissan) – one of the important elements (details further).
5. Other additional devices (depends on the model of the car).

Fuel vapors accumulating in the gas tank must go somewhere. In older cars they went through a special tube to the atmosphere. In modern vehicles, however, the fuel tanks are isolated from the outside environment.

Gasoline vapor, through a separate outlet, enters the adsorber and condenses there in the form of fuel, which returns to the tank or to the intake manifold. In the first case the process occurs when the engine is switched off, in the second – when the engine is running.

As soon as the car is started, the ECU sends a signal to the solenoid valve. The latter opens and the sorbent is blown. The fuel vapors are “extracted” from the sorbent immediately into a special receiver and then into the combustion chamber.

To find out more about what an adsorber is, follow this link.

Where is it installed?

As a rule, the adsorber is installed under the hood on the right side of the car, for example, at VAZ 2110 it is in the form of a barrel.

In other cars, it may be square and installed on the left side of the engine (in the direction of travel), under the air duct (Lada Granta), vacuum brake booster (some Nissan models) or near the radiator. On VAZ 2114 it is located near the battery and air filter.

On VW Passat B3 the adsorber is located under the air filter on the right side in driving direction.

For other vehicles, see your model owner’s manual.

When to change it?

There is no specific timeframe for replacing the adsorber. Many owners of cars with mileage of 200 thousand km don’t even think about it and don’t know where the product is located.

Here it is necessary to be guided by the signs of the device malfunction. About this in the next section.

Why do they refuse from the adsorber?

Despite the pluses of this design solution, namely fuel economy, the absence of odor in the cabin, reducing harmful emissions into the atmosphere (although many do not care), the adsorber has a number of significant drawbacks, for which many seek to disable or completely remove it.

Disadvantages, they are also signs of failure:

1. Expensive product (not for all cars). Replace or remove? More often the second option is preferred. For example, on the Acura MDX, the price of the product varies in the range of 10,000 rubles. For VAZ – from 800 rubles.
2. Failure of the device leads to malfunctions in the unit: the engine does not pull (bad acceleration of the car, stalls when driving uphill, cargo transportation, floating idle speeds on a warm motor, if the tank is plastic, then with a clogged adsorber, constantly squeezing and unclenching (in the absence of the bypass valve in the cover), it may eventually burst because of the pressure of gasoline vapor, if metal, then it will deform. One of the characteristic signs of the adsorber malfunction is a hissing noise when you open the fuel tank lid caused by air flowing into the tank (not out) and a gasoline odor in the cabin, wrong fuel level. Occurrence of error p0443 (the cause of the error is a clogged or defective solenoid valve).

Therefore, when the product is out of order, many disconnect and remove it, or go the more complicated way – open the case and replace the old activated carbon with a new one.

Is it possible to drive without an adsorber

Yes, you can. But there are different opinions on the expediency of such a solution.

Many car owners, after certain manipulations, which we will tell further, drive without adsorber for years without any problems.

Others, having disabled the device, install it back after a while and notice the increased fuel consumption and engine malfunctions. We will tell you about all these nuances further on.

How to disconnect or remove the adsorber from the car and is it necessary to re-flash the ECU?

It should be understood that when you remove the adsorber, the solenoid valve is disabled, which is directly connected to the controller and is controlled by the latter.

This will cause error p0443, which we have already mentioned above. Also the tubes are muffled, in particular the one that goes to the intake manifold.

What is the disadvantage of this shutdown?

The thing is that air is sucked in all the time through a tube that goes to the intake manifold, even at idle speed there is so called small purging of the adsorber. At high speeds from 1500 – 2000 and above – big purging.

In the ECU firmware, constant air suction and fuel vapor intake are taken into account when forming the fuel-air mixture, despite the fact that all this goes past the mass air flow sensor, about the causes of which you can find out by clicking on the link.

If you shut off the pipe, which many people do, a certain amount of air will not go into the intake manifold bypassing the ECU, but the latter still takes them into account.

I.e., the controller counts one volume of air, but another (smaller) volume actually enters. As a result, amount of fuel is formed by ECU on the basis of more air than it comes in. It leads to over-enrichment of fuel-air mixture.

As a result, the engine works incorrectly, because the mixture is constantly over-enriched where it is necessary and not necessary, the fuel consumption increases.

It is also worth talking about the transitional mode of the engine, which can manifest itself when approaching an intersection, a traffic light, a lying policeman, at the moment when the gas is dropped.

At this moment there can be a failure – reduction of revolutions below idle. The engine as if chokes, it does not have enough air, the reason is an over-enriched mixture. In a few seconds the situation is solved by electronics.

Therefore, it is correct to disconnect the adsorber in the following ways:

1. After removing the device, install a nozzle with a diameter of 1 mm in the tube, which goes directly past the DMRV. This at least partially, but will solve the problem, since only air without gasoline vapors will be metered.
2. The ECU is re-flashed (difficult). If it is impossible to remove a Check error, you may need to chip-tune the engine, and it is expensive.
3. Dismantling the entire system except the solenoid valve, which works idle.
4. Installing a resistor (valve emulation) in the electrical circuit for 200 – 250 ohms and 2 watts. To do this, bend the legs of the resistor and insert into the valve chip. Secure everything with duct tape. But this does not always help.

How to disconnect the adsorber at VAZ 2110, 2112, 2114.

Given the above recommendations do the following:

1. Disconnect the power connector from the valve.
2. Disconnect all pipes from the adsorber and dismantle the latter together with the mount.
3. Fasten the valve where the connector with wires and spigots will reach.
4. Connect the fuel filter hose to the lower fitting (see photo below).
5. To the upper end fitting – connect the branch pipe going to the intake manifold.
6. On the branch pipe, going to the tank, put on another filter, similar to the first.

In such a scheme, when the valve opens in the system enters clean air, though without petrol vapors.

We exclude the valve.

This way is even easier. Everything is dismantled, including the valve. On the pipe from the tank we put the fuel filter and the pipe to the intake manifold we jam it with a bolt and a clamp.

The consequences of this method are described above, but this way also has the right to life.

As for Priora, Granta, Lada Largus, Gazelle and other cars, it is disabled by the same methods described above.

Toyota Chaser

It is worth considering one of the foreign cars, for example, Toyota Chaser.

The principle of disconnection is similar to the previous ones:

1. Locate the adsorber valve. It is located near the mass airflow sensor on the air filter housing.
2. Disconnect the wiring harness and all pipes from it (Check on the dashboard may light up).
3. Locate the adsorber, disconnect the hoses from it and plug it.
4. Disconnect the pipe going to the valve from the throttle assembly and plug it with a bolt and clamp.
5. Put a fuel filter from the VAZ carburetor on the pipe going to the tank.

What is the trick of re-flashing from Euro 4 to Euro 2

Many are re-flashing ECU from Euro 4 to Euro 2, as a rule they do it when removing the catalytic converter and installing the override. At this moment, the adsorber valve may be disconnected (intentionally or accidentally) and ECU does not control the adsorber valve and does not control it in any way.

As a result, if the valve malfunctions, the engine will run with interruptions, and the error will not be displayed on the dashboard. To be sure of this, disconnect the valve and observe the work of the engine.

If the version is confirmed, muffle the pipes of adsorber and disconnect the valve, the controller does not control it anyway.

If you properly disconnect the adsorber, especially after reprogramming to Euro 2, it will not affect the performance of the car.

If not to solve the problem with dosed air flowing into the intake manifold bypassing the DMRV (as conceived by engineers) using, for example, a nozzle, the increased fuel consumption and dips from idle to low-end during transient modes of the engine will be noticed in the long run.

Therefore, is it worth it to do it decides for himself, but it is necessary to understand that all the systems of the car and interconnected in a complex they ensure the stable operation of not only the engine, but also the machine as a whole.

Well, don’t forget about technical inspection, which is unlikely to be passed after disconnection of gasoline vapor recovery system, bypassing additional financial expenses.

And what were your problems with disabling the absorber? Or anything you don’t agree with? Write in the comments.